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Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is the deuteragonist and anti-hero of the animated series Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. He is the arch-rival and occasionally best friend of Bugs Bunny. Biography Daffy Duck is Bugs Bunny's best friend, but however, he is sometimes his rival. He also has a former girlfriend named Melissa Duck and has a new girlfriend named Tina Russo Duck. Daffy first appeared on April 17, 1937 in "Porky's Duck Hunt", directed by Tex Avery and animated by Bob Clampett. The cartoon is a standard hunter/prey pairing for which Leon Schlesinger's studio was famous, but Daffy (barely more than an unnamed bit player in this short) was something new to moviegoers: an assertive, completely unrestrained, combative protagonist. Bob later recalled: "At that time, audiences weren't accustomed to seeing a cartoon character do these things. And so, when it hit the theaters it was an explosion. People would leave the theaters talking about this daffy duck." This early Daffy is less anthropomorphic and resembles a "normal" duck, being short and pudgy, with stubby legs and a beak. The only aspects of the character that have remained consistent through the years are his voice (provided by Mel Blanc) and his black feathers with a white neck ring. Mel's voice for Daffy holds the world record for the longest voice-acting of one animated character by his/her original actor: 52 years. The origin of Daffy's voice is a matter of some debate. One often-repeated "official" story is that it was modeled after producer Schlesinger's tendency to lisp. However, in Mel Blanc's autobiography, That's Not All, Folks!, he contradicts that conventional belief, writing, "It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly on words containing an s sound. Thus 'despicable' became 'dethpicable.'" In "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" (1950), Daffy has a middle name, Dumas, as the screenwriter of a swashbuckling script, a nod to Alexandre Dumas. Also, in the Baby Looney Tunes episode "The Tattletale", Granny addresses Daffy as "Daffy Horacio Tiberius Duck." In The Looney Tunes Show (2011), the joke middle names "Armando" and "Sheldon" are used. Daffy's slobbery, exaggerated lisp was developed over time, and it is barely noticeable in the early cartoons. In "Daffy Duck & Egghead," Daffy does not lisp at all except in the separately drawn set-piece of Daffy singing "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" in which just a slight lisp can be heard. In Looney Tunes: Back In Action, Daffy is sick of Bugs and goes on an adventure with DJ to battle The ACME Company and save DJ's father, but his real purpose of coming is to get the Blue Monkey diamond. When the Warner Bros. animation studio briefly outsourced cartoon production to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (DFE) in the 1960s, Daffy Duck became an antagonist (or inconsistent friend) in several Speedy Gonzalescartoons, where his mean spirit is taken to extremes. In these years Daffy was transformed into a disturbingly nasty and bitter character with little to no good character traits present in him. For example, in "Well Worn Daffy" (1965), Daffy is determined to keep the mice away from a desperately needed well seemingly for no other motive than pure maliciousness. Furthermore, when he draws all the water he wants, Daffy then attempts to destroy the well in spite of the vicious pointlessness of the act, forcing Speedy to stop him. In "Assault and Peppered" (1965) he whipped poor Mexican mice for (starving) on (his) property. in "Go Go Amigo" (1965) he threatens a local radio station at gunpoint so that Speedy and his friends couldn't listen to music at Daffy's electronics store. The last cartoon featuring Daffy and Speedy is "See Ya Later Gladiator", which has been negatively received by fans of the Warner Bros. cartoons. The Warner Bros. animation studio was entering its twilight years, and even Daffy had to stretch for humor in the period. It is worth mentioning, though, that in many of the later DFE cartoons, such as "Feather Finger" and "Daffy's Diner," Daffy is portrayed as a more sympathetic character rather than the full-blown villain he is in cartoons like "Well Worn Daffy" and Assault and Peppered. Other Appearances Duck Dodgers In Duck Dodgers, Daffy Duck (aka Duck Dodgers) serves to protect the galaxy alongside Porky Pig (aka The Cadet) from Marvin The Martian. While still lazy, dimwitted and sometimes coward, Daffy maintains a heroic status on that series, the only exception occurring on a two-part episode in which he sabotages a peace treaty to prevent losing his job, an act for which the Cadet takes the blame. Dodgers later regrets the sabotage, saves the Cadet from prison and publicly admits his guilt. Lunar Tunes In Lunar Tunes, ''Daffy Duck is determined to protect planet earth with Bugs Bunny from Yosemite Sam and other villains from outer space. ''Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas He also appears in Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas as the protagonist where he plays an Ebenezer Scrooge role until he was redeemed by three ghosts. The Looney Tunes Show He also appears in The Looney Tunes Show where he is the deuteragonist and Bugs' best friend and roommate where they live in a suburban home who's neighbors are Yosemite Sam, Granny, and Witch Lezah. Looney Tunes: The Looney Beginning He also appears in Looney Tunes: The Looney Beginning as the deuteragonist where he Bugs first met at the Warner Bros studio. Looney Tunes and Roger Rabbit He appears in Looney Tunes and Roger Rabbit where he is an detective alongside Bugs Bunny to solve the crime when Roger is framed for the murder of Marvin Acme. Looney Tunes meets King Kong He appears in Looney Tunes meets King Kong where he and Bugs stranded to Skull Island, after being attack King Kong, and the two help Kong and Ann face their fears of the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the planes. Looney Tunes: The Three Musketeers He appears in Looney Tunes: The Three Musketeers where he serve as a musketeer along with Bugs and Tweety. Looney Tunes Fairy Adventures He also appears in Looney Tunes Fairy Adventures as an Ugly Duckling to save Storybook Land theme park with Red Riding hood, Hansel and Gretel and Jack from Mr. Johnson and Mr. Lawyer. Looney Tunes: The Founded Dinosaur He also appears in Looney Tunes: The Founded Dinosaur as a baby duckling and growing up and raised by a girl named Gena in the time travel fossil world for unwanted animals. Looney Tunes: Justice Heroes He also appears in Looney Tunes: Justice Heroes where he and Bugs are on a relaxing vacation at Pismo Beach when they encounter a superhero named Superman and the Justice League. Looney Tunes: Return of Kong He reappears in Looney Tunes: Return of Kong so he, Bugs, Kong and Ann must return to Skull Island to save the island from the greedy Captain Nils Helstrom. Trivia * Despite being the deuteragonist of the series, Daffy is a supporting character in Space Jam and he was the main protagonist of Duck Dodgers. Category:Characters Category:Looney Tunes characters Category:Males Category:Animals Category:Cartoon characters Category:Ducks Category:Pessimists Turned Optimists Category:Optimists Category:Anti heroes Category:Crazy characters Category:Idiots Category:Cowards Category:Birds Category:Heroes Category:Wise characters Category:Warner Bros. characters